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Lucy Kaplansky - Ten Year Night Audio CD

A fair review of the Lucy Kaplansky "Ten Year Night" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Lucy Kaplansky reviews here, or go back to the Lucy Kaplansky tabs.

Lucy Kaplansky Band: Lucy Kaplansky
Title: Ten Year Night
Rating:
Release Date: 1999-03-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Ten Year Night 2: End of the Day 3: One Good Reason 4: Five in the Morning 5: Promise Me 6: Turn the Lights Back On 7: Just You Tonight 8: For Once in Your Life 9: Somewhere Out There 10: Child's Hands

Straight to the Heart
ALL are performed brilliantly and movingly. This is an amazing collection of songs, some she wrote, some are covers. I saw Lucy in concert and when she performed the title track, the room FELL AWAY, my heart skipped a beat, and I became her newest fan. If you ever get the chance to hear her live, RUN don't walk. She's a great performer and an amazing songwriter with lots to say about the quiet and intensely personal moments that comprise a life.


Lucy's Best Try It You'll Like It :)
If you want to get familiarized with her music, this is a good one to start with. This is Lucy K's best CD. Best songs are: "Just You Tonight," "For Once in Your Life," Ten Year Night," "Somewhere Out There," and "Five in the Morning. " I disagree with this reviewer who said, "'For Once in Your Life' also strains to be a "deep" hymn to those carrying emotional baggage they can't drop but the tune seems oddly upbeat and Lucy's voice too lilting for the heavy subject. It just doesn't work for me. "

All I can say is that this whole 1999 collection works for me. Not a bad song on this CD.
.


Looks like I'm in the minority


I'll echo what some others have said in that most of the ones I enjoyed best seemed to be the most spare, least produced offerings. I consider myself a singer-songwriter/new folk fan (I love Shawn Colvin, much of Dar Williams' stuff, Sarah McLachlan, Mary Chapin-Carpenter,Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer) and I'd heard good things about her (not to mention the Colvin connection was enticing) so I borrowed this disc from my library.

HIGHLIGHTS:
"Promise Me" is a 'missing you from the road' song and while the sentiment isn't new, it's heartfelt ("I'm counting the white lines/the measures of road time/They're broken in pieces/like my heart today") and sounds very nice with the John Gorka harmony. It's a keeper. "Just You Tonight" is simplicity itself: Larry Campbell's acoustic, Zev Katz's bass, and Lucy. The only studio "trick" is Jennifer Kimball's lovely harmony. The song is bewitching. The vulnerability in "A Child's Hands" (where Lucy realizes that the fears of youth still linger within) make it a fine effort, too.

LOW SPOTS:
"Turn the Lights Back On" sounds like it wants to be the anthem for women in passionless relationships, but the overly wordy third verse doesn't fit the meter and makes the tune stumble. "For Once in Your Life" also strains to be a "deep" hymn to those carrying emotional baggage they can't drop but the tune seems oddly upbeat and Lucy's voice too lilting for the heavy subject. It just doesn't work for me.

BOTTOM LINE:
Kaplansky does have a fine voice, if not particularly distinctive. The songs here are nice, but in the end only some of them were genuine "wows" for me. A good one if you're a diehard folkie/singer-songwriter only person, but those whose musical interests scatter across the board might not find this sufficiently fantastic to choose this over another act.


Excellent folk-country singer-songwriter
In a crowded market, Lucy does not get the same level of recognition accorded to Lucinda Williams or Mary Chapin-Carpenter but Lucy is just as good as those two. Lucy is one of many excellent folk-country singer-songwriters to emerge on the American music scene in the nineties.

This classic album is a wonderful example of Lucy's skills as both singer and songwriter. It opens with the title track, about the tenth anniversary of a relationship. End of the day is about people led a contented but modest lifestyle before chasing the money, only to discover that they were better off materially but less satisfied with life. One good reason is about a woman asking her partner to choose between her and the bottle, knowing that he'd choose the bottle. Five in the morning is a song about a woman who leaves home while everybody is asleep, hoping to find a better life. Promise me is about being on the road and unable to establish a relationship. The remaining songs explore various aspects of love - the joys and the problems.

If you enjoy contemporary folk-country music, do not overlook Lucy Kaplansky. This was my first album of her music but it certainly won't be the last.


Another tremendous album by Lucy
The title track is a real keeper, as is the cover of Steve Earle's Somewhere Out There. This one has it all--great, personal lyrics (Just You Tonight will have you running for the kleenex), well-written songs and playing.

A great album, sure to be in my CD player for years.


You can see a complete list of all Lucy Kaplansky discography, or go back to the Lucy Kaplansky tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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